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newVideoPlayer("78_Honda_Civic_Hatch_476.flv", 494, 410,""); No car illustrates the concept of Long Term Model Bloat better than the Civic (for a good example of Short Term Model Bloat, compare the 1970 Mercury Cougar with the 1974 version). Here's Honda boasting about the ability of the '78 Civic hatch's ability to swallow four shopping bags. The '78 Civic hatchback weighed 1,708 pounds... about 1,000 pounds less than the '08 Civic sedan .
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newVideoPlayer("78_Mercury_Cougar_Cheryl_Tiegs_476.flv", 463, 387,""); While Farrah Fawcett merely allowed a cougar to sit on the roof of her car in her '75 Cougar ad , Cheryl Tiegs lets a mountain lion ride shotgun in her '78 (equipped with the hyper-Malaise "Midnight Chamois" option package). Not only that, but her hair totally out-feathers Farrah's, and her haunted mansion gives her more of an air of mystery. Did we mention the 134-horse 302 that came standard in this 3,800-pound car?
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newVideoPlayer("78_Fiat_Ritmo.flv", 463, 387,""); After seeing a Fiat Strada as today's Down On The Street car, it seems only right that we should see an ad for its European sibling, the Fiat Ritmo. Naturally, car buyers of the time were eager to buy vehicles made by Italian robots , and who can blame them?
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newVideoPlayer("78_Granada_476.flv", 463, 387,""); Somehow, the Ford Granada doesn't look quite as Mercedes-like in person as this ad claims, but maybe you need to get more into the Malaise spirit to really see it. Try looking at it through some Quaalude-tinted glasses, while imagining interest rates on that 280SE hovering around 18%. Granada... 280SE... Granada... 280SE...
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newVideoPlayer("78_Honda_Leaded_476.flv", 463, 387,""); Thanks to the magic of the CVCC engine , Honda was able to meet emission requirements for '78 without using a catalytic converter. Oh, sure, cats were installed and the CVCC's smog gear got insanely complicated a few years later, but in 1978 you could experience the Joy of Lead in your new Honda.
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newVideoPlayer("78_Volare_Wagon_476.flv", 475, 376,""); Could the '78 Plymouth Volaré station wagon really get 25 miles per gallon on the highway? And how about that "big-car comfort" mentioned in this ad? It might be tough to go from, say, a 1970 Chrysler Town & Country to one of these things, though at least you could get the Slant Six in a Volaré.
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newVideoPlayer("78_Dodge_Magnum_476.flv", 475, 376); The venerable Chrysler B-Body platform still had some life left in it by the Late Malaise Era, and that meant that the descendant of the Super Bee and Charger was going to roll with T-tops A Cord-type grille, sophisticated instrumentation, and electronic wizardry. Oh yes, and a 140-horse 318, though you could also opt for the 360 or 400 engines. This ad rates about a 6 on the Disco-O-Meter (with the Black Gold 280ZX scoring a perfect 10).
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newVideoPlayer("78Multivan_476.flv", 475, 376); If you're the Japanese Sherlock Holmes, you don't want to have any of those boxes of confiscated cocaine get left behind at the station when you're heading out for a night on the town. That's why you need the 1978 Mazda Bongo Multivan- just roll right up and get those flatfoot coppers to pack the goods right in! We'd like this ad better if it had a macho announcer's voice, of course, but perhaps that's not appropriate for a Bongo.
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In 1978, Mercury was looking to sell 200,000 new cars in six weeks, and that meant their "Personal Car" was needed to lead the way. We're not quite sure what's so personal about it, but it's boldly styled with a handsome new grille! Sure, it's a little more, uh, sub stan tial than its 60s forebears, but those small Cougars were a little too impersonal for car buyers' tastes. Keep watching when the ad is done, because you get a bonus Old Milwaukee Beer ad, complete with Louis Armstrong impersonator and general Malaise-y goodness all around.
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Former Combat! star Rick Jason was big in Japan in the late 1970s, if we are to judge from this ad for the JDM '78 Celica XX (sold here as the Supra). Just lean on that sporty fastback and puff suavely on a gasper, and like magic a busty babe appears and throws your bowtie on the driver's seat. Yeah, that's the Celica for you.
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